Forum Post: Where to possibly go from here...

This was written on a blog by this postee. Will not refer to the actual blog posting because that feels a lot like trying to linkfarm and would keep it separate.

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Like any other conscientious person who cares about his fellow being (not just humans), I have been watching the protests of #OWC and others springing up around the globe. Here are the points that provoke my thoughts the most.

But before a start I need to note that I just happened to be in New York when this started. Unfortunately I had a lot of work to do and was only able to make a short visit. I have to admit that I was a bit underwhelmed at first, but this only increased my desire to stay.

What really struck me though was a brief moment in a nearby hardware store where my associate and I had entered to look at some tools. A young man with a physique of an American Football player, well shaven, short brown hair, white shirt and tie with slacks and brown shoes sauntered into the store and picked up a bouquet of small American flags. At first I thought he was an irate stock trader who was going to go and counter protest. I did not want to believe this. I heard him explaining himself to a shop associate in high strung tones, but could not make out what he was saying exactly. I did not have enough time to investigate further. However, the next day I saw one of the many high quality videos that have been appearing (many of them bringing me to tears) and there he was. I was glad that my first thought was wrong.

And now for the points.

The mainstream media blackout or its outright hostility reveals the true nature of the power that conducts its messages in order to maintain the status quo, circumvented by newer ‘hot’ (in the words of Marshal McLuhan) media that spreads quickly to those that want to know what is going on. It is amazing to see how this has been working so well in the sense that it is rendering mainstream media irrelevant. Today, the truth travels fast because the methods for transmission is in the hands of the many. Even if facebook or twitter starts to block things, the movement is already snowballing to the point that other means could be found to get the message out. Maybe a mass migration to Google+? And if not there then I will laud the creation of a truly open and free social network.

The mainstream accusation that the #OWC message is not clear is clearly an attempt to dilute and subvert. That said, it appears to me that in the same way ‘hot’ media is circumventing the mainstream media in coverage, #OWC could simply inspire people to organize themselves and circumvent the entire system that they are protesting against.

There are two articles of interest to me that point in this direction. The first is a video from a project that has been going on for some time and that I think is highly relevant and should be spread more widely via #OWC ‘channels,’ The Pinky Show has been making cute and fun, highly informative and well researched works about American Imperialism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nN1kp1ggWyM

Freedomland!

The second item on my list is a book that has fired my imagination from the moment I got through the first few chapters,The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. I can’t recommend this book enough. In fact, I already donated a copy via post when I found out that the Peoples Library in Liberty Park did not have one.

I think it is important to have some references other than material that is intrinsically connected with our (global) problems. We need to start thinking in leaps.

I am slightly skeptical that the actions in the middle east could be replicated in the U.S. In Egypt there was no democracy. What stood between the people and the small group of Mubarak and his supporters and cronies was a military that decided at some point that removing a few people from power was better than a blood bath. Also, there was no blackout from the mainstream U.S. and global media. The whole the world was watching. There were other pressures as well, the U.S. being to be one of them, albeit a bit late for better or worse given its bungled foreign policy in the region.

Back in the U.S. the system does have a lot of laws that protect its citizens. And there are laws that are specific in allowing people to peacefully assemble. My skepticism lay in the fact that, by comparison, the system we are up against is huge. Where will protests simply overwhelm the system? As with my first impression of the man I saw at the hardware store, I hope I am wrong.

Whatever this turn of events may bring, it is extremely exciting to be watching this unfold and be a part of it however small ones contribution may be.

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Interested in feedback from anyone who has taken the time to watch the video and double bonus points from anyone who has read 'The Dispossessed.'